The RLC Southern Africa’s first graduating class share their experience

Announced in July 2014, by US President Barack Obama and launched in summer 2015, the RLCs (Regional Leadership Centres) provide high quality training, mentoring, and networking support to young leaders. The Centres reach exceptional persons aged between 18 and 35 from a wide range of backgrounds and diverse experiences. The RLC Southern Africa’s first graduating class includes Madvee Muthu, Djamil Dilmahomed and Diana Seesurrun. Back in Mauritius, they are all set to implement their projects.

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"13724","attributes":{"class":"media-image wp-image-22797 alignleft","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"387","height":"215","alt":"diana"}}]]Diana Seesurrun: “I want to set a project in the education field”

Diana Seesurrun works as Business Developer in Corporate Sales at the National Insurance Company Ltd. Being part of the first YALI cohort was a privilege for her. She opted for Public Management and Governance, as it was in line with her profession. “It was a unique experience, as I have had a cross-cultural exposure with participants from Africa, naming countries like Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Tanzania, Madagascar, Zambia, Namibia, Lesotho, etc. It was a great platform for networking and exchanging views on different aspects of public management and governance.” Following this experience, Diana Seesurrun is all set to implement a project on education in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. “My project is to set up a monitoring and coaching system whereby children be coached by a professional throughout their schooling. The coaching will be in different fields, academic, sports and others,” she reveals. Diana holds a Bachelor Degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management and a Masters in Business Administration. She achieved the best prize for Tourism and Hospitality during her undergraduate studies. She is also a member of Rotary.

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"13725","attributes":{"class":"media-image wp-image-22798 alignleft","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"437","height":"289","alt":"djamil-2"}}]]Muhammad Djamil Idriss Dilmahomed: “Launch my own business”

20-year old Djamil studied Business and Entrepreneurship at the Regional Leadership Centre. He learned a lot from his interaction with the other African participants and wants to pursue further studies in business management. “I learned very much about the other African cultures and business strategies. It was a good platform to discuss business ideas. Participanats expressed their opinions about the pros and cons of their concepts. Besides, it was a great opportunity to create our own network all over Africa, mostly SADC countries,” he avers. Right now, he is making the most of it to acquire more knowledge and capital so that he can launch his own business. He wants to excel more thoroughly as a Leader and convey his knowledge to those in need so that they can be leaders themselves and promote the economic growth of our country. Djamil is student at Rushmore Business School studying for his Higher National Diploma in Business. He will then do a BA (Hons) in Marketing Management though he is very passionate about cars and also possesses a National Certificate in Automotive Mechanics.

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"13726","attributes":{"class":"media-image wp-image-22799 alignleft","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"272","height":"369","alt":"madvi"}}]]Madvee Muthu: “My aim is to assist international organisations”

Madvee Muthu attended a month-long course in Civic Leadership. This enhanced her understanding of civil society organisations in the Southern African region and on the many different ways these can choose to get involved within a country. Madvee has spent the last 14 years living in the US, UK, Mauritius, Ethiopia, Tunisia and Ivory Coast, first as a student and then as a professional working in international development. Trained as an Economist, she started her career at the Ministry of Finance, followed by a two-year assignment with UNDP Mauritius where she provided technical support to the Ministry of Education on its national project, ‘Zones d’Education Prioritaires (ZEP)’, for disadvantaged schools. She now runs her own consultancy firm. “Through my business ‘impACT consulting’, my aim is to assist international organisations, governments and civil society organisations in becoming more effective agents of change through informed project design; sound and consistent monitoring and evaluation; research and capacity building services.” As her assignment with UNDP came to an end, Madvee readily accepted a Research Fellowship at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) where she was given the opportunity to work on mainstreaming gender in macroeconomic policies at pan-African level. Madvee and Diana have decided to join forces and develop a pilot project to promote career guidance within the public school system. In their assessment, the public education system does not offer career guidance at any level. With reforms in place to change to a Nine-year schooling system, the time seems appropriate to enhance this new system by providing guidance to students for their future professional life. Diana and Madvee aim to fill this gap by piloting a project to raise awareness in terms of career options and provides guidance on how to get there. The project will have three components, each one addressing different age groups, that is, 9-11 years old, 12-16 years old and 17-19 years old. Each component will be designed with the particular age group in mind. For example, the component for primary school age group will be focused on career exploration while the secondary school age group will contain a roadmap on how to join a specific line of work. The project is currently under development with the aim of launching later this year.